"People knew it was a big game and really got up for it," said Franklin Perry '04.
Eleven minutes into the game, striker Carlo Valdesolo '03 fed a pass to Perry, who was playing in the midfield for the first time all season. Denny hit a rocket past Wesleyan goalie Dan Penrod into the bottom right-hand corner of the goal. Just three minutes later Valdesolo received a pass from Jeff Cantwell '04 and blasted a shot into the upper right-hand corner of the goal off the outside of his left foot.
Wesleyan was unable to follow through on their shots, and Chris Kane '03 added an insurance goal six minutes into the second half, chipping a shot over Penrod's head.
Roger Boulay '03 didn't get into the offensive mix, but he held his ground at left back. "He didn't get beat on defense at all," said Perry. "There were no mistakes on the ball."
Tri-captain Casey Ryan '02 controlled the midfield from his center midfield position. Valdesolo, in his first game as a forward, also demonstrated outstanding moves, one of which resulted in the second goal of the game. "He had great movement off the ball and with the ball," said Perry.
Cantwell, aside from assisting Valdesolo on his goal, encouraged his teammates with his hard effort.
Throughout most of the game, the ball was in the Cardinals' end of the field, as they struggled to keep the dominating Jeff offense out. They especially lost control in the middle of their field, resulting in the three Amherst goals. Wesleyan had 10 shots on goal, but goaltender Bill Orum '02 made a number of spectacular saves in blanking the Cardinals.
"They were a pretty good team," said Valdesolo. "We just capitalized on the opportunities we had."
Last week the men traveled to the Owl Stadium Complex in Keene, NH, to play Keene State College in a 7 p.m. lighted game. Amherst fell to their non-league foe 1-0, as the Owls earned their seventh straight win.
Jason Lombardo of Keene State scored the only goal near the end of the second half, making it his team-leading 11th goal of the season. After teammate Matt Lam fed Lombardo at the far right wing, he shot the ball into the left corner of the net from approximately 20 yards out.
With most of the play caught in the middle of the field, Keene State prevented Amherst from retaliating. Despite nine shots on goal, including one each from Kane and Cantwell that barely missed, the Jeffs were unable to convert on any of their chances.
Last night, the Jeffs traveled to Springfield College to take on the Pride in a non-league battle. The game started on a high note, when Perry notched a goal to give the Jeffs the lead early on. However, the lead did not stand up to the test of overtime, as Springfield's Mike Russo singlehandedly dismantled the Amherst lead with both goals in a 2-1 loss. Russo's first tally evened the score at 40:13 following Perry's net. In the 95th minute, a penalty kick by Russo gave the Pride the game.
This Saturday, Amherst will travel to Trinity College in their last conference game. "We should beat them," said Valdesolo.
The Sunday after, the Jeffs will play at the NESCAC quarterfinals. Amherst's first round opponent will be announced Saturday night after regular season conference play finishes.